Welcome Wendy! and gettin' o'ganized

So my Hanging Hearts Swap partner has done it, she took the plunge and started her very own blog! Visit Wendy at Something for Sophie and welcome her to our happy bloggy family!

So . . . now that you've all visited Wendy let's talk about me. Ahem.



Look at my neatly organized craft desk! Now don't get too excited, the desk is currently covered in Valentine crafty things but still looks pretty good. The simple addition of that over the sink shelf from my kitchen really made a difference! I still need to go through all of that paper on the right there but let's not get crazy.



I also did some work on the ribbon drawer. I had so many scraps and half spools and I could never find anything I was looking for.




It was time consuming to rap all the ribbon around cardboard but I am happy with the result. Easy to see and find whatever I am looking for!

Next up, fabric! Wish me luck!

cheers
Rebecca

On air in five . . . four . . .

Well kids, I'm back! We had a wonderful vacation and I wish I were still floatin' in the lazy river sipping my pina co-lava! ;) Here are some shots of our fun times:


So you know I did some shopping in WDW right?



Man I'm a sucker for stuffed toys! How old am I?? But aren't they adorable? I couldn't resist. And hello? They are wearing pink and brown! My favorite. Also picked up these:



It's a box of 24 Valentines also pink and brown. Again, too cute. (and as always, sorry for the glare, I only thought to snap this pick this morning before I ripped into my Valentines!)

I also spent a mint at the Japanese store, Mitsukoshi, in Epcot. One of the girls working there said she worked for the store in Tokyo and they sent her to work in Disney for a year. When I asked if she liked the United States all she said was "it's different." I'm sure it is.

In the United Kingdom Pavilion I found this display:



Aren't they so cool? You can go here and see a picture of the entire display. I was so fascinated by this and took tons of pictures so I can make my own wooden royals. Now if only I can figure out a good source for wooden doll bodies that won't run me a fortune . . .

Here is a shot of the fabulous pool at our resort, The Beach Club:



It was really a fun place to stay!

And last but not least, a picture of my DH picking a monkey's nose:



Glad you stuck around for that one, huh?

So I'm ready to get back to crafting and fun now that vacation has passed and my brain is flowing with ideas! Wish I had something to show you now but the last thing I made is for the Hanging Hearts swap and I don't want to blow the surprise for my swap partner Wendy! Wendy doesn't have a blog but she's thinking about startingone. I hope she decides to take the plunge. She works mostly with fabric and you should see some of her creations! And did I mention she lives in the Land of the Midnight Sun? That just fascinates me to no end!

Hope to be back this week with something crafty to share!

xoxoxo
R

Until the next time . . .

I'm off to see Mickey Mouse bright and early tomorrow morning. I'll be back and ready to kick some crafty butt on a week.

big hugs!
R

Tutorial: Crepe Paper Pin Wheels

I've never done a tutorial before but as it's on my January List to try to add more to the blog I thought I'd start small.

I use crepe paper pin wheels in a number of different crafts. I have quite a few ideas brewing that I hope to incorporate them into and share with you in the month of February. So let's begin, shall we? :)

note: The crepe paper used in this tutorial is from the dollar store.

Materials:

crepe paper (no need to cut a length from the roll, you can just start from the end and cut later)
needle and thread
glitter (optional)
glue (optional)

Thread your needle with about 24 inches of thread and tie in a secure knot. Weave your thread in and out along the bottom of the crepe paper:



Gather crepe paper onto thread:



Continue until you have enough gathered to make a circle:



Cut the crepe paper just beyond the last stitch:



Your piece should look like this:



Secure the two ends together with a few stitches in the middle:



At this point you can add a dab of glue to secure but it should stay just as it is. Knot the thread and cut. Want to add glitter?

Prepare by making a row of glitter on a piece of scrap paper. Put glue on the edges of your pin wheel with a paint brush:



Dip your glued edge in the glitter a few times to coat:



Shake off excess and let dry. Viola!:



I used this one here:



I love the way this came out! The fan is a Christmas ornament originally from Pier One. I found three in a bag at the thrift store for 99 cents. I've already started a second ornament:



I just need to make another crepe paper pin wheel and add some feathers. :)

Please let me know how you enjoyed my first tutorial and it's clear and easy to understand.

Cheers!
Rebecca

I'm just going to look, I don't need a cart . . . .

That was my attitude heading into the Northern Thrift on Sunday with my friend Lizzy. I really just wanted to drop off my donations and have a quick spin around. No need for a cart. Well as we all know that never works. While I didn't get a ton I did buy a large wicker basket to use in reorganizing the craft room and ended up needing that cart after all.

A few other things I found . . .



Two tea towels, one is cotton and has a picture of Italy and the other is Irish Linen (by order of Her Royal Majesty according to the tag) and has a lovely alphabet on it. The striped fabric is a yard of Laura Ashley "Old English" and was a steal at 69 cents. I think I'll make myself some shoe bags with that. And the big rolls of crepe paper are the nice stuff, not the cheapy dollar store crap. I'm picturing Halloween crafts for some reason. ;)



My favorite find was this small enamelware dish. It's about 9 X 6 and is quite heavy. I love the aqua color! The bottom is slightly darker. Funny how a small dish can make me so happy LOL.

A pretty good thrifting trip in all with most items being small ticket and only a few dollars more for the large basket and the dish. Lizzy did well, too. She cleaned up on nice wool sweaters! I've got the junkin' itch and just chatted with Breanna today about planning a spring trip to the Elephant's Trunk Flea Market.

So I'm way over due in showing you the lovely wedding gift VaxGirl made for me. She gave it to me when we went to the rummage sale in November and I thought I posted about it but couldn't find it!



She crocheted me this lovely cotton bathroom set! The picture really doesn't do it justice at all. You should see that bath mat! Hopefully soon my bathroom will be clean enough for me to use it in there. ;) She also gave me a set of Pyrex mixing bowls and a jar of her home made pickles. Thanks again, Catherine, and so so sorry I didn't post about this long ago!

Until the next . . .

Rebecca

PS - My sister is back blogging! Visit her here!

Sew What

I decided to face my fears and blew the dust off the old sewing monster this weekend. As many of you know I get really frustrated sewing. Thanks to my DH I have a lovely new machine that doesn't get a lot of attention. I promised myself I'd get over it and dive right in. So of course I'm starting small.



Lovely picture, yes I know. I probably should have stuffed them for a more attractive shot but I was just so happy they turned out that I wanted to document it quickly. Two drawstring shoe bags for Luis to use on our trip next week. The fabric is a lovely scrap of Waverly decorator cotton I've had forever and have been afraid to cut into. (If someone can explain to me why we crafters HATE using craft supplies please do.) I pretty much used this tutorial (which I found here on Roxanne's blog) but as I was going from memory I'm sure my method was a wee bit different. Simple, I know, but oh so handy and some serious instant gratification. Does it matter that Luis can only fit one shoe in each bag instead of two? No.

That done I decided to push my luck and try something similar but a bit more difficult. I found this tutorial through Sara's blog (you can see her version here) and decided to give it a go:



Not bad for my first piece of patchwork! The rooster fabric is again something I've had for awhile but have been loathe to cut into but I'm glad I did. I've been wanting to use it for a kitchen project forever and really did need a place to store those pesky grocery bags I still end up with even though I try to always take my own bags to the store. Now if only I had enough of that fabric left for curtains!



I hung it in the basement way with my favorite aprons which includes that sweet orange and green bird apron Jen was kind enough to make me for a swap. I really need to work on my picture taking LOL.

Anyway, it was quite a productive weekend for me with all the sewing, crafting, and patting myself on the back. I'll have a few things to share this week including some thrifts and a tutorial. :)

hugs
RR

Seven Somethings

So I was tagged by Tamy and Michelle to tell 7 somethings about me. So in no particular order . . .


1) In a creative writing class in college we had to choose a pen name and would be called that for the semester but our odd but fairly likable teacher. I chose Rebecca Dusquesne. We had just studied Fort Duquesne in another class and I thought it sounded so exotic! I changed the spelling a bit and voila! I had a pen name. Those of you who have seen my email address will notice that I still use Dusquesne to this very day. :)

2) I am a certified massage therapist. I specialized in sports massage (rotation disorder) and had wonderful day dreams of working with the US Olympic speed skating team in Torino in 2006. Instead of furthering my career in Utah where the team practices I moved to New York City where I met my future husband 6 weeks after I got here. Sometimes I still think about being a therapist but I'm happy with the decision I made. Now if Major League Baseball calls and needs my services we'll just have to see what happens . . .

3) I took classical voice lessons for many years. I am known to burst out into "Nel Cor Pia Non Mi Sento**" after too many glasses of wine.

4) My husband calls me "squab head" anytime I wear a hood. He says my head is way too small for my body. That's only because his head is the size of a medicine ball.

5) I almost moved to Auckland, New Zealand and while researching working abroad made friends with a man who worked for the NZ visa department. He told me to learn Japanese so I could prove I had a marketable skill in the tourist areas. He also sent me pictures of him and his dog running in a field. Hmmm.

6) If you Google me I'm a make up artist, an insurance broker and a woman who owns a Welsh Corgi with degenerative bone disease.

7) I worked in the music industry for 9 years. I ranged from record store employee to advertising manager. After that I was so sick of "popular" music that I turned on the oldies station and never looked back. To this day I have no idea what music is "in" unless I hear it on a commercial.

So there you go. Still want to read my blog? LOL

I think everyone has been tagged so I'll skip that. :)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends! I hope to share some crafty goodies next week!

~ Rebecca

** - Nel Cor Pia Non Mi Sento basically translates to "pity me because I'm so very sad" LOL

Out.Of.Con.Trol

Seriously. I said I wasn't going to spend money this year and well . . . the clearance section at the Michaels got me again. In my defense I used a gift card which still has some funds on it.



Oh Martha, you slay me! Seriously. But what a wonderful palette, no? The rolls of paper are glassine, wrapping, vellum and tissue from the bottom up. Either $2.00 or $1.50. On the right: the recipes cards were $1 (I sent these in red to Breanna for the Sister Swap. I like that they fold over as I always run out of room when writing out a recipe!), the package behind that are memorabilia pockets for a scrapbook and were not on clearance but well, you know, I NEEDED them. Only $3 so okay. ;) The "specimen" boxes were $2 each, originally $9.99. They are hinged boxes with padded fabric inside and specimen pins to attach some thing. Not sure what I'm going to do but perhaps something from my wedding as they are pink and brown. And wouldn't that be a neat gift for someone? Ideas welcome! What would you make? The ribbon is actually ribbon tape (sticky back) and I can think of many uses for it, $2, and the kit is to make 3 lovely frames and was $5. I will probably frame photos for gits with these. So this was all under $20 and like I said, I used a gift card.

I'm very into these colors right now. Especially the soft pink. I about drooled all over the February Country Living that arrived in my box yesterday:



There's my combo of pink and brown! And hello, I want a cupcake. :) Love the little basket handle, too. Might have to steal that idea. So did I read the magazine? Um no. I haven't finished with January yet and like Leigh Ann I like to read things in order.

I'll share my seven random/strange facts tomorrow as I can't come up with any as I'm so very normal. ;) Off to a long day of CPR and first aid training!

cheers
Rebecca

Mumbo Jumbo

I always think I have nothing to post about and then in one day I come up with FOUR THINGS. So I'll split them up, two today and two tomorrow. :)

First, many of you already know this but head on over to Sweet Goodness Swaps and sign up for our Hanging Hearts Valentine Swap!



This will be a quick and easy swap and a great way to flex your creative muscles and get 2008 off to a bangin' start. Sign ups end this Friday! Please also sign up for our mailing list (on the side bar at Sweet Goodness) to be informed of swap news and future swaps. We have a great year of swaps coming your way and as we grow in popularity (ahem) we may need to limit the number of participants so don't be late! I'd also like to welcome Heidi as the newest Goodness Girl! Thanks again, Heidi, for jumping in with both feet and lending some much needed support to Leigh Ann, Lucy and myself.

And second on the list, some thrifting! It's about time, no?



The mother load of hankies! My Mom spotted these beauties and they were only 25 cents each! So if you swap with me this year you'll most likely find one of these beauties tucked in your package. Except for that St. Patrick's day one on the bottom. I heart that one. :)



The thrifting was not spectacular in Baltimore but I did find a few treasures. The fabric is made into a curtain and I adore the pattern. What would you make it into? I'm thinking of maybe a lining for a knit bag, light celery green yarn perhaps? Any other ideas? The two hot pads and the balls of sugar and cream were all in a bag together for $2. Ever wonder what the process is for bagging misc. items at thrift? Hmmm.

I adore the handmade geisha doll. I plan to make her a nice new kimono and call her Chiyo after the young Sayuri in Memoirs of a Geisha which I happen to be rereading at the time.

The Pyrex lid is the Friendship pattern and was only $1. I spent my Sunday on Ebay bidding on matching casseroles and won a 2 quart orange one for $10. A bit more than I would normally pay but I love this pattern and could use a good sized casserole. This will go nicely with the Pyrex found in my Grandpop's apartment earlier this year.

I'm hoping to sneak in a little thrifting this weekend while Luis is off to Baltimore to watch the Giants take on the Cowboys with our brother in law Ryan. As each is routing for a different team (Luis for the Giants obviously) it should be a rowdy good time. I'll be home packing for our trip to Disney (YES AGAIN) and working on my abomination of a craft room.

Tomorrow I'll share some fun 7 random/crazy facts about myself thanks to tags from both Tamy and Michelle!

Until then . . .

RR

New Year, New You . . .

Happy New Year! My holidays were filled with family, friends and fun and they went much to fast. So now it's that time of year to make resolutions that I promise to keep this time. I WILL get healthy. I WILL get organized. Those are the two big ones. I feel like I'm losing myself in the hustle bustle of my life and need to get back on track. I have loads of smaller resolutions as well like sticking to a budget, using more moisturizer and learning a new skill. Anyone else out there making resolutions?

Now that's it's January I am roaring to get a move on to all those projects on the January List. Once I get my house in order (decorations away, cleaning done) I plan to dig in deep in my craft room. It's a mess. And I am not exaggerating. My 10 year old niece opened the door and said "WHOA." So you know it's bad. Anyone who has any unique storage ideas please send them my way. I'm working with a smallish room (maybe 12 X 10) with no closet and one wall that has a radiator and window. I have two desks, two bookcases, yarn cubes and a small sewing table. I need some serious help! :)

Sweet Louie gave me a new camera for Christmas! It's a Canon Elph SD950 and has all sorts of fancy features I have yet to understand. I should probably read the book. :) And what do you think the first picture I took was of? My dear husband? My sweet doggies? My family? Um no.



It was of cupcakes. I just thought they were so pretty. Want to see them close up?



See the sparkly sugar? I guess that is what 12 mega pixels will do for you. So my 2nd picture was also of cupcakes. What a crazy lady. And speaking of cupcakes . . .



Seems to be a bit of a theme, hmmm . . . Maybe I should call this blog Thrifty Cupcakes or Cupcakey Goodness? The cupcake sippie cup and tea towel are from Target from their Valentine's Day line. I went on the day after Christmas for our annual sale hopping and couldn't resist them. (I was in shopping mode!) The stuffed cupcake is an ornament I found at JC Penny of all places for 70% off. Too cute to put away for next Christmas don't you think? I got some other things at Target like two table cloths, some napkins, an apron and some rag rugs I plan to use on the porch. They were with the Christmas stuff but are blue and brown. Perfect as they were only $4 each. :)

I also hit the Macy's to prowl the Martha Ornaments. I got a few small glittered houses and some of those elves made from pine cones. Also got a Santa tree topper. Everything was 75% off. I picked up these as well:



The top one is a box and the smaller ones are flat ornaments. I also plan to leave these out and think I'll hang them on my Easter tree.

Next stop? Michaels to dig for half price Martha craft goods:



I tried to pick up things that I could use now like the wrapping paper, rick rack and those cute treat houses which I plan to use for Easter. The ornament kit, glitter card kit and an advent house kit (not shown) will go away for next year and we'll see what projects I can use that glitter on.

So good thing I put myself on a budget AFTER this shopping trip, right? :) I also did some thrifting while in Baltimore but don't have much to show. I'll share those small finds later this week.

So now that I've gotten all my babbling out and shared my treasures with you I'm off to talk myself INTO going to the gym today. Time to get started on the new me. ;)

xoxoxo
Rebecca